


Pink Sandcastles

by VonChoke



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: F/F, Flirting, Making Out, Sort Of, Trixie is a useless lesbian, beach au, cisgirl lesbian au, travel vlogger AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-05 19:16:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15870021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VonChoke/pseuds/VonChoke
Summary: Trixie Mattel is a popular YouTube travel vlogger. When she receives an invitation to stay at a resort at La Union, Philippines, she had no idea that this particular trip would help her find out what home really means.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is dedicated to my travel vlogger friend who gave me the real tea and inspired me to write a Trixya fanfic out of it.

“Hi! I’m the feeling you get in your nose when wasabi goes the wrong way, Trixie Mattel!”

There was a feeling of relief and satisfaction, such as closing the very last page of a brick-thick and well-read book, that Trixie found in watching her latest travel vlog finish uploading on YouTube. Tokyo was her biggest one yet and the biggest pain in the ass to edit, but she couldn’t wait to share all three part vlogs of her trip with her (she sat up to quickly check her stats) 1,635,224 subscribers. 

Folding her legs, she fiddled with a pink horse plushie she got from her Japan trip and vaguely hoped that she was able to give justice to the quirky yet composed vibe that was uniquely Japanese. She thought about the vibrant colors of the Harajuku costume stalls and the sweet creaminess of ice cream and fruit crepes. Most importantly, she remembered with a smile, the arcade game cranes did not cheat you from getting pink horse plushies.

“Welcome back to my channel guys, sorry I haven’t made a video in a while, I just wanna give you guys some updates—” her YouTube persona broke off snorting from mocking other vloggers. In a more normal voice, she continued after an edit cut. “If you have been following me on IG Stories, y’all know this cunt-try hick finally made it to JAPAN!”

————————

Trixie Mattel is a popular YouTube travel vlogger. In the beginning, she almost hated herself for having the same American dream to travel the world and document her adventures just like every other wanderlust YouTube backpacker her age. But after her first plane ride, she fell in love with the journey. She cherished the feeling of leaving her world behind to explore a new one, so far and different from the home she used to grow up in. To make herself standout, she visually branded herself with her Barbie pink fluffy hair, round white glasses, and sense of humor as dry and tasty as the Sahara dessert.

 _“Do you like cans? Do you like nothing? Then Can-nada is the place for you!”_ was one of her more god awful intros that she was immensely proud of and brought in the groans and increased viewerships.

She still couldn’t believe she got this far. From watching travel vlogs on YouTube during her break time as an escape from her dreary job of selling makeup to mallgoers, she now had a successful brand she built from the ground up. It surprised her how many people loved her stories when she appeared at VidCon for a travel panel and got to talk to her viewers.

“So what do I finally think about Japan?” she concluded as a voice-over at the end of the third video. Her on-screen self sighed, part wistful, part envious. “The things I’ve seen, I’ve experienced… Like, I left my phone on a table at a McDonalds to use the bathroom and when I came back, y’all know this shit would have been swiped the second I left, it was still there! Or I saw this man stub out his cigarette on the ground then pocketed it because there wasn’t a trash receptacle nearby.

“The Japanese, they care so much about each other. They take their fellow citizens into consideration. If they eat at a fully packed ramen place, they don’t overstay because they don’t want the others in line to be kept waiting. I really admire this country, they’ve been taught at a very young age to look after their space, their community, and most importantly, each other.”

 

It has been three days since Trixie uploaded part three of her Japan vlog when she got an email. It read:

> “Dear Miss Trixie Mattel,
> 
> I’m not sure if you remember me, but we met at VidCon last March. My name is Katya and you snorted Red Bull over my jacket.”

Trixie groaned ‘oh my god’ in embarrassment. The blonde woman with perfect teeth and absurd sense of humor that made Trixie scream-laugh so hard, who can forget her? It was Trixie’s third VidCon when she met this woman and ten minutes after meeting her, she couldn’t help but wonder why didn’t she have her own vlog. While they have exchanged details after the convention, Trixie mostly followed her Instagram and liked all of her photos. She also commented once in a while. Yay for new friends.

But this email wasn’t a catch up. It was an invitation to stay for four days at Katya’s new beach resort at La Union, Philippines. Tilting her head in interest, the prospect of visiting a tropical country was enticing. Her heart slowly filled with pride that someone had chosen her channel to showcase their resort in its best light.

When Trixie Googled ‘La Union Philippines’, she was served images of blue skies, bluer surfing waves, and various resorts and tourist spots. She also Googled the name of the new resort Katya had invited her to and checked out their Facebook business page. As she thought it over, she Facetimed one of her best friends, another YouTube celebrity who did make up reviews and fabulous make up designs.

“Why do you always call whenever we’re filming our stuff, are you purposely trying to annoy us? This is the second time,” Kim answered with her familiar dry lisp and a half-done eyeshadow. Trixie hollered in response.

“I’m sorry!” she cackled. “Yes I can always tell—at least have the decency to include my interruption in your next video.”

Kim rolled her eyes as Trixie batted hers. “That one time in Miz Cracker’s video doesn’t make you shit, you exposure slut,” she snarked. She clicked off her laptop camera off screen and said, “So what’s up?”

“Yeah, remember Katya from VidCon last March?” Trixie said, drumming her blue nails against the table. “She invited me to her new resort in the Philippines, want to come?”

Kim chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully. “I don’t know, Trix… I’d really love to come. But Japan wiped me out.”

“I told you not to go crazy on the makeup,” Trixie sighed as her shoulders slumped. “Even if they were cute.”

“The cutest.”

“Was the Sailormoon collection worth our friendship, Kim Chi?”

“Absolutely. The Holy Grail blush has watered my crops, cured my crippling anxiety, and always listens to my feelings. Have fun in the Philippines!”

“Fuck you all the way off, Kim,” Trixie chortled. It was a shame her snarkiest friend won’t be able to come. She would have loved to tease her about her usually impeccable make up melting in the tropical heat. 

“Is there anyone else you can get to go with you?” Kim said, checking her foundation on a mirror nearby. Trixie thought about it and shook her head.

“I was thinking that maybe Bob could do his podcast there but he hates the beach.”

“Willam?”

Trixie sighed. “Willam is on a mission to suck all the right dicks to score the latest Louboutin design.”

“Hmmmm, how about Thor? He’s probably in New York right now though.”

Trixie shook her head. Everyone was way too busy with their own lives. “Thorgy has orchestra rehearsals for the next two months,” she said. Sighing, she moved on. “Anyways, I’mma let you continue your tutorial. Bye, love your hair, hope you win!” Kim waved back with a smirk and disconnected the call. And Trixie still didn’t have a partner. She mentally ran a list of her other friends who could hopefully accompany her to this trip, someone who wouldn’t mind her dry banter and simple lodging accommodations.

She drafted a reply to accept Katya’s invitation, all the while hoping a friend would come through for her before she leaves.

 

—————

 _No one_ , Trixie thought miserably while waiting at the airport. The waiting area was packed with a busy energy of huge duffel bags, crying babies, and people talking loudly on their phones that she did her best to ignore. She breathed at a conscious pace, calming herself. _This isn’t a scam_ , she told herself. _La Union is a beautiful place_ , she gathered from several vlogs, blogs, and articles. _And maybe Katya isn’t an international con artist looking to scam young, innocent, naive vloggers for their money. She has a Russian name, so that isn’t shady at all._ The last one was mostly sarcastic.

Whatever. She’s determined to have a great time. Despite having tucked most of her pink hair underneath a beanie, she was still being approached by young fans asking for her picture and travel recommendations. She didn’t mind the interactions, it distracted her from her usual pre-flight anxieties. She promised herself that everything will go smoothly when she gets to La Union.

————

It was raining when she finally got to La Union. The beach looked dreary and sad against the glow of a few lightning fixtures here and there. The driver who picked her up from the airport and drove for hours until nightfall was grumpy from the traffic they got snagged in at several locations. Trixie didn’t know which direction her resort was after disembarking the van or what time was it even. She was bone tired, didn’t want to lug her heavy and expensive equipment in the rain, and terribly hungry. She quickly sought shelter under a canopy fronting one of the small establishments, dragging her bags with her. 

Collapsing on one of the plastic chairs when she felt safe from the rain, she didn’t realize what sort of shop she was at until the strong smell of coffee snapped for her attention.

She turned to the counter. A bald Caucasian man with a single black earring was tending the bar. She blinked and immediately appreciated the wild colorful art print on his apron and the tattoos over his arms against the warm cafe light. He was also wearing dark metallic blue lipstick that was smiling at her.

“Trixie Mattel, right?” his low, smooth voice called out. Trixie nodded, wanting to cling on to the closest friendly attention after a long journey. The man moved gracefully out of the counter and held out a hand for Trixie to shake. “My name is Sasha, so great to finally meet you!”

“You know me?” Trixie said dumbly. Sasha nodded. With the elegance of a rich host, Sasha ran back to the bar and began fixing up a plate and a cup while answering Trixie’s inquiring look.

“Katya mentioned you’d be here,” he said, flipping something on a pan. “She told me to keep a look out for pink hair and white glasses. Do you like grilled cheese?”

Trixie nodded, too tired to form words. In a few minutes, Sasha had prepared a grilled cheese sandwich with jam and homemade clotted cream at the side, tomato soup, and a big hot cup of coffee. Trixie took one whiff and immediately went for it like a wolf.

“Thank you so much,” she moaned after a huge bite. “I am starving. And this is delicious!” she said after a gulp of coffee. Sasha grinned widely.

“It’s a special brew. What you are drinking is called Alamid. Katya thought you’d enjoy it and couldn’t wait for you to try it.”

“I love it already,” Trixie said. It was sweet and fruity and had no cream nor sugar. She finished it until the last drop. “Where are the beans from?”

Sasha leaned his head on to his hand and simply replied, “Cat shit.”

——————————

Trixie immediately fell on to her bed. She didn’t know who to hate more at the moment; that Katya thought she’d enjoy drinking cat shit coffee, that Sasha actually said cat shit to her jetlagged ass before patiently explaining the process of harvesting the expensive civet coffee grounds (she learned that it really does pass through a butthole), or the entire beach for the wet sand that made its way inside her shoes. After Sasha made a quick phone call, Trixie was assisted to the resort by a local and was quickly checked in to her room.

She woke up hours later to light shining behind a tall curtain. Blearily, she focused her eyes on a wall clock. It read 12:35 in the afternoon, she had been sleeping for almost fifteen hours. Fifteen hours since arriving to a soggy beach in exhaustion and to, luckily, meeting a new friend named Sasha. She vaguely remembered asking for his preferred pronouns before leaving Velour Cafe (”Whichever, darling. I take them all!”) 

She slowly sat up, bones and muscles aching from the lack of movement for hours. As she stretched, she moved to draw the curtains open. The sight before her was the complete wake up call.

There was almost little to no evidence of yesterday’s rain. The sky was an incredible blue and the water below it was carrying and swallowing surfers at bay. Trees and boulders palmed the shore and separated the sun bathers from the tiny establishments and larger resorts. Below Trixie’s window was a swimming pool that looked cool and inviting. Deciding it was time to get to work, Trixie unpacked her resort wear, her drone bag, laptop, and camera. After connecting to the resort’s wifi, she opened the newest email.

 

> Let me know if there’s anything you need. Hope you’re all settled in.
> 
> X Katya
> 
> P.S. I have more alamid coffee down here at my office :)

 

Trixie giggled. In a better headspace than yesterday, she felt slightly mortified for her bratty reaction last night. She has tried cow stomach at Hong Kong, for heaven’s sake.

She left her room in a pair of denim shorts, a white linen sleeveless top, and sunblock everywhere else. Her pink hair was tied up in a ponytail as she tugged a small sleek black luggage with all her gear in it. The decision of where to eat was being thought about when her attention was caught by the resort receptionist waving at her before she almost exited the lobby. “Miss Mattel!”

“Yes?” said Trixie as she approached the desk.

“Miss Zamolodchikova told me to call her the moment I see you. Would you please wait for her here?” the receptionist said, gesturing towards the sitting area before picking up the phone. Trixie was impressed at the way the lady had pronounced Katya’s surname without tripping over her words. Smiling, she nodded and took a seat.

It didn’t take long for her to wait. She was barely through a round of Candy Crush when she felt someone tapping her shoulder. Glancing up her phone, she took in a bold red lipstick formed into a wide grin.

“Katya, hi!” Trixie greeted, cheek kissing and hugging her host. Katya returned the hello, her kohl-rimmed eyes lingered on her face for a moment before she spoke.

“I am so happy you accepted my invitation,” Katya said happily.

“Yeah well, I honestly thought you were going to scam me for my organs because you’re a Russian working in an Asian country, totally not shady at all,” Trixie replied, hoping to pick up the zany banter they had left at the convention in Los Angeles. The older woman did not disappoint. She doubled over in a loud snort, clutching Trixie by the back of the neck for support.

“Fuck, I missed that pussy face of yours,” she gleefully announced, hugging her again. Soon she had looped her arm around Trixie’s elbow and led her out the lobby and into the bright blue summer. Trixie grinned at the large fan Katya had brought out and dramatically whipped it open with a loud _thworp_. “Welcome to La Union! Or as we locals call it here, ‘Elyu’.” She flourished her fan across the view of the beach.

“Oh, she’s a local now,” Trixie sassed to which Katya simply responded by blocking Trixie’s face with the fan. This was going to be a very interesting trip.

 

“So, what do you do for fun around here?” Trixie said, looking up from unfolding the wings of her DJI Mavic Pro, a gray compact drone camera she had gotten as a Christmas gift for herself. They had stopped at a shady spot where Trixie could set up without getting in the way of other guests. Katya watched interestedly at how she calibrated the camera to her phone before answering.

“Hmmm, when I am not busy being a well-respected, totally responsible and complex executive woman—” Trixie snorted. “I go for swims. I read my books by the sea. I talk to the locals and the tourists, get their stories. That’s actually my favorite part.”

“Listening to their stories?”

“Yep. They are the ships passing by my port for the night, and I am naught but the lonely wench with a voracious appetite for entertaint-ment.”

“Oh so you’re the local hooker?” Trixie deadpanned. Katya needn’t have answered as her wheezing laugh was a satisfying reaction enough. She joined her friend on the ground, not caring that she was getting sand on her casual office attire.

“I have to admit, I thought the white glasses were just for fashion,” Katya said, crossing her legs and fanning both herself and her companion.

“Oh, uh… They are,” Trixie said, grinning meekly. “These are graded, my eyes are just tired today, but I wear contacts sometimes too.”

“So how did you come up with the pink Barbie hair and glasses image?”

“Well, I love Barbie, even as a kid. And I think the white glasses are cute and they make me look less of a bimbo.”

“I don’t know how to gently break it to you but… ” Trixie could already see where this was going and already began shaking with laughter.

“I’m calling the cops,” Trixie chortled while testing her drone for flight.

“I know a couple on my payroll,” Katya said, spreading her legs invitingly wide open on the sand. Trixie tried not to widen her eyes too much at how flexible she was. “Sleazy Russian, remember?”

“Sleazy, yes,” she coughed. “But I can hear an accent. What’s that, Boston?”

The wheezing laughter was back again and this time, it was giving Trixie a warm glow inside. Making Katya laugh like that was easy and terribly enjoyable, she couldn’t have asked for a better host.

“You are so different from your vlog persona,” Katya exclaimed happily. “You’re… a cunt! An actual, real life, honest-to-goodness cunt!”

“Oh mama I know,” Trixie said, giggling. She flew the drone around for a bird’s eye view of the whole beach. “Online, I’m like Spongebob. Offline, I’m really Squidward and hate people.”

Katya cackled, grabbing Trixie’s knee for almost physical support. “I see the resemblance,” she bantered. “Except the big nose is probably under your skirt right?”

Trixie guffawed. With one hand, she took Katya’s fan and began fanning her hips. “Oh honey. You can’t handle all this big nose energy. Hooonneeeey.” Both women ended up scream laughing from their little spot on the beach, drawing the odd stares from the other tourists.

Their afternoon whirled by in a flurry of snacking on sweet Philippine mangoes that Trixie couldn’t get enough of, sightseeing, and Katya pointing out the better ocean activities to try while she’s here. When she spotted a wooden signage in the shape of a large surfboard advertising surf lessons, Trixie grabbed Katya’s excitedly and declared that she must try out a session. The older woman took delight in her enthusiasm and promised to get one of her friends to teach her. 

Trixie continued to fill her Instagram Stories with postcard-like views of the beach, scenic selfies, and an impressive shot of Katya in a headstand that ended in a split. If Katya was showing off for Trixie, the latter was definitely in awe.

Eventually, Trixie realized that they’ve been strolling along the beach with their arms linked together the whole time. “It’s a real paradise,” she casually said. Carefully, she lowered her bait. “I’m sure you have someone special to share this place with.” She side-eyed Katya through her sunglasses, hoping that she understood what information she’s delicately trying to extract with the finesse of not looking like a desperate hoe.

Katya held her gaze for a few seconds before looking back at the ocean. “I wish I did,” she said as she gave a tiny cryptic smile. Trixie nodded, settling for the somewhat vague answer. She can rest her mind believing that Katya was simply naturally friendly and affectionate.

Late in the afternoon, they passed Velour Cafe to say hi and Trixie immediately gushed out her thanks to Sasha for taking care of her last night. Sasha was just as charmed and delighted to see the two together. Katya ordered them two cappuccinos and a calamansi cheesecake as the three of them conversed.

“How are you finding the sunlight today, Trixie?” Sasha said.

“Absolutely breathtaking,” she replied, voice tinged in awe. “I could live here.”

“I would fully support you on that,” Katya said, moving her face closer to Trixie’s. In a deep crazy old man voice, she added, “I could use another chambermaid after I killed the last one.”

“Oh wow, that’s hot. Am I going to find the body in my closet?” Trixie asked dryly.

“Only if you want to fuck it.”

“Perfect. Cold and dead, just like my last girlfriend. I feel so right at home.”

Katya dissolved into a physical cackling fit (”You nasty, vile whore!”), poking Trixie’s thigh with a her fan. Sasha commented mildly, “I see why you invited her here.” They grinned. “You two are going to terrorize this place.”

“As if Katya hasn’t already did with her stink,” Trixie said, sipping her coffee.

“Do you see why I adore this cunt?” Katya said to Sasha, grinning. A thought came to her and she immediately grabbed their wrist. “Ooh! Are we still on for tonight with Jiggly? Trixie should come!”

Sasha quickly nodded. To Trixie’s inquiring look, they replied, “Some of us are getting together for drinks tonight. We’d love for you to come and meet the others.”

“Sounds great, yeah,” Trixie said, smiling. “Where will it be?”

“I’ll bring you there, don’t worry about it,” said Katya quickly before a forkful of cheesecake. Thankfully, Trixie did not notice the cocked eyebrow from Sasha directed at Katya.

They left the cafe two hours later. As Trixie took some shots of the cafe with her phone, Sasha and Katya were conversing with each other in rapid Russian. They bid each other well with a cheek kiss before Katya rejoined Trixie to her side.

“What did you guys talk about?” she asked.

“Hmm? Oh, umm… Just, uh, reminded Sasha to call Karl. Yeah, Karl is Velour Cafe’s local business partner here,” said Katya quickly.

“Where’s Karl now?” Trixie asked out of curiosity.

“In Manila, trying to bring all of Velour Cafe’s hipster shenanigans and tomfoolery to the main cities,” Katya said.

“Oh wow.”

———————

That night, Katya led Trixie to their late night drinking session by the beach. As they approached, Sasha waved at the pair to a table filled with few other ladies.

As Trixie sat down she was introduced to Katya’s friends who’re other local business owners in the area. There was a round woman named Jiggly who ran the colorful and quaint hostel not so far away, a bald woman named Ongina who runs a cozy carinderia, turquoise-haired Phi Phi who manages a beach front speakeasy bar, and Vivienne who gives surfing lessons. They all warmly welcomed her with a cheek kiss and, to Trixie’s delight, did not tone down the gossip on other business owners and regulars. After all the introductions, she took a seat on a plastic chair next to Katya’s.

“So this is Trixie,” Phi Phi stated, uncapping a beer for their guest. “Gossip gets around here fast about a loud American with pink hair already arm-in-arm with our local Russian friend. They’re pestering me to ask what’s the deal with you two. And make it good because _Aling_ Lettie has started a betting pool with the neighbors.”

“We’re, uh, friends who met at VidCon last time?” said Trixie as she accepted the beer from Phi Phi. “And Katya invited me here to her resort.”

“Where are you from, Trixie?” Vivienne asked, moving her long curly black hair away from her face.

“I’m originally from Wisconsin, but moved to Chicago a few years ago,” Trixie replied.

“You are correct about the accent earlier. I used to live in Boston,” Katya said, casually draping an arm on the backrest of Trixie’s chair. “How was Wisconsin for you?”

“Honey, I grew up bumfuck poor on the countryside. It was a small town too,” Trixie said, taking a sip of her San Mig Lite. Katya seemed to have thought of something as she suddenly flailed and batted her hand in Trixie’s general direction.

“So your first relationship there was—” Katya had said ‘your cousin’ at the same time Trixie said ‘my cousin’. They had a moment where they stared at each other, then suddenly both girls surprised the entire table by screeching and flailing.

“Good lord, there’s two of them,” Phi Phi said, rather stunned by the display. The other women in the group openly laughed before filling the evening with stories from the island. Although the moment Katya mentioned that Trixie was a travel vlogger, their eyes widened in interest and pleaded for Trixie’s own travel anecdotes. Only too happy to share her adventures, the pink haired vlogger ended up gushing about places she loved, things she hated, and the people she enjoyed talking to.

As the night wore on so fast, there were moments Trixie couldn’t help but zone out of the conversation. The drinks, the cool sea breeze, the music of the waves licking the shore, and Katya’s fingers against her scalp only made it too easy to feel drowsy. She didn’t mind the latter. Although when she quirked an eyebrow at first touch, Katya merely shrugged. It feels like cotton candy, she had said.

“You and Sasha seem to know a lot about things,” Trixie commented at one point.

“We do,” Katya said, smiling in agreement. “The only difference between Sasha and I is that she has her shit together and I fuck my shit up. I blame the drugs.” This earned a knowing snort from Sasha.

“It doesn’t look that way to me,” Trixie said in all honesty.

“Well, my dear Tracy, what you see… isn’t always the truth.”

“In that case.” Trixie shifted her body to face Katya. “What is your truth, Zamo?”

Katya paused. Thinking. Instead of words, her fingertips trailed from the back of Trixie’s head to her jaw, then to her neck. Trixie shivered and flushed at the intimacy of the feather light touch, her body seeming to understand before her mind could. She needed to get her head straight, so she quickly stood up to stretch and announce that she had to use the comfort room. Jiggly offered hers at the hostel, certain that it was clean and decent to use. Before Trixie can even squint at the direction Jiggly was pointing at, Katya immediately volunteered her to show the way.

“It’s okay, Katya,” Trixie quickly said, looking a little flustered. “I can see the hostel from here, I’ll be right back!”

“A-are you sure?” Katya said, looking a little more insistent, shoulders slumping down an inch.

“Yeah I’m good. Be right back,” she said, now walking around the table and into the direction of the hostel. Everyone said nothing until they were all certain that Trixie was out of earshot before turning their expectant eyes to Katya.

“Bitch, what do I do?” Katya hissed at everyone.

“You have it bad,” Phi Phi remarked with a shark-like grin at her Russian friend. “We all noticed the way you were staring at her.”

“Staring? That hand was thirsty,” Jiggly teased.

Katya groaned, slumped over her seat, and took another sip of her Coke. “I swear I know how to flirt like a fine wine-and-dine woman of my age, Linda,” she muttered.

“Including telling her how you feel, I’m sure,” Sasha said flatly.

“What if she just wasn’t interested?” said Katya, rubbing her palm into her eye.

Ongina snorted. “I know a useless lesbian when I see one. Sometimes you have to kind of knock them on the head. Figuratively,” she said, gesturing her beer knowingly.

“Isn’t this why you invited her here in the first place?” said Jiggly.

Vivienne, ever so helpful, warily brought up, “Ladies, I think we’re forgetting someone in this picture…”

Katya ignored them all and pondered her options. She can ask Trixie to take a walk with her along the shore where they can talk. Yeah, that’s a good plan. The waves will calm her down and keep Trixie’s mind, and heart, open.

They waited for Trixie to come back by making small talk. Katya’s heart started speeding up as she watched a curvy figure slowly make its way back to their table. As the glow from a lightbulb above spotlighted her sweet face, Katya was confused at the wary expression and the way she was gripping her phone.

“Trixie?”

Trixie’s brows furrowed deeper. Her phone-occupied hand hovered somewhere over her heart, as though protecting it from whatever answer she may get. “Who’s Violet?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Strap in your seatbelt, kiddos. I'm taking you all for a ride on the Feels Express.
> 
> And I was planning on updating a week later, but what the hell!

“Let me get this straight,” Kim said testily on the other side of Trixie’s laptop screen the next morning. Today she had white highlighting foundation that she has not yet blended in due to Trixie’s timely interruption again. “You were invited to La Union to review the beach and the resort there, but the real reason was Katya used her resort to lure you there and get closer to you?”

“Seems like it,” Trixie huffed.

“But you just found out last night from a comment on one of Katya’s IG pics that she’s in a relationship with, your words, a gorgeous, skinny burlesque star?”

“Exactly.”

“And how did you discover this?”

“I was checking Instagram on my way back from the bathroom and the first thing I saw was Katya’s newest post. Then I read someone named Violet Chachki commented ‘miss those hands on me babe’ on it and… ugh.”

“What fucking rom-com shit are you living in?”

“Goddamnit I know right!” she almost yelled, burying her face on her hands. “I didn’t even know she was flirting with me since VidCon and I don’t know if I might have accidentally flirted back!”

Kim snorted. “You dense idiot,” she said. There was a beat of silence and then, “So what are you going to do about it?” Another pause. “Have you guys talked yet?”

Trixie sighed, brushing back a pink strand away from her mouth. “Not yet.” As she said it, a notification lit up her phone’s screen. It was one of eight she has not replied to yet. “Katya’s uh… inviting me to brunch. She said she’s serving pancakes and a full explanation.”

Hopefully the whole story instead of the basic gist she was served last night; After Katya’s quiet confession that she was in a long distance relationship with another (way more gorgeous) person, Trixie felt completely embarrassed for believing she was getting to the big time for having someone personally invite her, all expenses paid, to another country for a free stay at their resort because she delivered quality YouTube content. Looking around at the silent group around her, she felt deeply mortified that they probably knew that Katya had taken a huge amount of effort to basically get some pussy. She wasn’t even someone worth seducing, what the hell? Her pride in her work was hurt so she quickly faked an upset stomach, excused herself, and ran back to her room.

“I really don’t know what to do, Kim,” she groaned.

“Well,” Kim said slowly. “How do you feel about Katya?”

Trixie dug deep into her mind. She and Katya well… clicked. Like two hurricanes merging into one destructive force. She does like Katya as a friend, but realizes that she knows nothing else behind the macabre and filthy humor and wide smile. Come to think of it, what sort of place does the dark humor come from?

“I… care for her,” Trixie finally said. “As a great friend. Other than that, I don’t know anything else about her. We don’t talk much about our past. Because when we’re together, it’s like… nothing else matters? I don’t even think about my own shit. I forget everything and only enjoy my time with her.” She locked eyes with Kim. “That’s weird, isn’t it?”

“Ehhhh yeah,” said Kim. “But that’s probably a good place to start.”

“I’m going to meet her for brunch, aren’t I?” Trixie said, looking lost. “Because I really don’t know what else to do.”

“Come up with a list,” the Asian girl prompted whenever a friend needed direction. “Three things.”

“Okay,” Trixie breathed, sitting up. “One, talk to Katya. Two, decide what to do from there. And three… Oh right fuck. Vlog.”

“That’s a plan.” Kim smiled.

“It’s a plan. Thanks Kim, I’ll see you around.”

After disconnecting the call, Trixie sat back on her chair and allowed her mind to wander out the window. What exactly does she want with Katya? She wasn’t even sure if she wanted a relationship right now with all the traveling she’s planning on doing. During the day, she can freely say that she is self-sufficient and can hold her own without anyone by her side. 

But midnight is a different story. Whenever Trixie lays on her pillow to sleep, her caged heart roams free. Like any other lonely person, they’ll never admit that she secretly cries out for a companion and longs to relate to love songs. The yearning filled her with agony sometimes, but she bears with it as she knows it’ll pass the moment she falls asleep. When she goes on through her day, Trixie no longer takes the time to dwell on wanting a romantic partner. Her desire of having someone to kiss and to take care of are buried under a modern day woman’s sensibilities.

She can do this. She’s old enough to know what she wants and which of Katya’s bullshit she’s not willing to put up with.

—————————

“ _Salamat po_ ,” Trixie quietly thanked the waiter in Tagalog, something Jiggly taught her last night, for laying out her breakfast plate and orange juice in front of her. Across her, Katya had a coffee, a fluffy pastry, an orange, and a cigarette. She too looked anxious.

Trixie ate quietly, using the food as an excuse not to talk first. She didn’t make eye contact, instead looked out to the view of the ocean. When a breeze picked up, she tucked her hair behind her ear.

“I really like your hair,” Katya finally said, getting her attention. Smiling, she added, “It’s like catnip for pussies.”

That seemed to break the ice wall between them. Trixie stared at her for a second in bewilderment and let out a snort and giggle of amusement. She did get a lot of lesbian attention online for her hair. In return, Katya laughed with relief at the reaction and let herself relax. She can do this.

“So… I owe you an apology. I guess wasn’t honest with you in the beginning,” she said. 

“Really, you guess?”

“Shut up, Toby, let me be real for once,” Katya said, smirking. Continuing, she stared at a point above her as she gathered her words succinctly. “I… was already interested after we met at VidCon. I wanted to keep what we had going but I didn’t because life happened.” 

She waved a hand at the building behind her. “The resort opened and I became extremely busy. Then when I watched your latest Japan vlog, I thought you looked so beautiful and happy and… I kind of missed you? Then I talked to Sasha, we thought that I should invite you here to Elyu so we could… talk more and the rest was history.”

Trixie nodded. Time for her to speak. “I guess I was… hurt. And embarrassed.” To Katya’s subtle questioning expression, she carried on in softer tones. “I thought you invited me here because I make great travel vlogs and wanted the best for your resort.” 

“Oh mama, you are the best,” said Katya sincerely as she leaned forward. “I checked out all your videos after we met at VidCon and those are the five pinkest hours of my life I cannot get back.” She was relieved when Trixie let out a trill of giggles. “I’m really sorry for embarrassing you. That wasn’t my intention. I thought this was going to be a great way of getting to know you better but yeah, that was probably a dumb idea.”

“Not entirely,” Trixie said. She looked out to the ocean sparkling under the sun and the carefree shouts of other tourists and breathed it all in. She felt the distance from her drafty little apartment in Chicago stretch all the way here, a sunny and spacious bliss while sitting across a woman who found her weirdness worth the effort to be around.

She held her breath before letting out, “And Violet?”

Lowering her cigarette, Katya gave a small sad smile. “She was on vacation here when we met. It’s an open relationship because she’s always on tour with her troupe and I’m just here. I thought was okay in the beginning because I’m like seven different shades of fucked up and wasn’t sure I could fully commit. Now I don’t know if I should let her go or stay with her cause it was my fucking idea in the first place to ask for more. And god, there were the drugs…”

“Drugs?” This was the first time Trixie heard Katya talk seriously about drugs. She mostly chalked it to her dark humor and never thought it came from a real, scary place. “Oh wow, I didn’t know. I’m sorry I thought you’ve only been joking about those.”

“I wasn’t joking, bitch,” Katya laughed without humor and began peeling her orange. “Although… I do hate being serious all the time. I can’t take life too seriously anymore, otherwise I get sucked back in to the dark.” 

“Oh yeah I totally get it. Joking as a coping mechanism. Oh honey, did you have an abusive step-dad too?” Trixie said in her driest tone.

Katya’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, looking as though she didn’t know whether to laugh or not. “W-well, no. I was raised by a team of greasy Taco Bell employees who took me in when I was young,” she said seriously.

“What?” Trixie gaped. How did that even happ—oh, she was kidding. She glared at Katya wheezing in laughter and slapping her knee. “You bitch, I almost believed that,” she cried out, joining her in the hilarity.

“Hidden talent,” Katya cackled. “I swear I am able to drop into the pain of my personal experiences so effortlessly that allows people to believe in my bullshit.”

“Now I’m doubting this entire conversation,” Trixie sniffed before Katya quickly shook her head and sobered up.

“Oh no no, I’m not. Sorry, that’s on me. I need to say something stupid before I get into any serious topics.” She cleared her throat before speaking again. “I’m sorry you had to go through… that. Are you good now?”

Trixie leaned back into her chair and nodded, drawing her eyes downwards. “Yeah, I’m good. I don’t talk about him anymore.” She sighed, letting the moment breathe before bringing the topic back on track. “So, uh… Violet.”

“Right, yeah, Violet,” Katya sadly said. Steeling herself, she continued, “So I thought I was okay with the distance because I believed that Violet didn’t deserve me, didn’t deserve _that_ , didn’t deserve to deal with my problems on top of her touring schedule, airport drama, hotel conflama…”

“So why were you hitting on me then? Why are you still together?” Trixie made an effort to keep her voice steady. Her heart was already smarting for being in the position of ‘second choice’.

“I don’t know. I guess cause you’re you,” Katya said. There was a screwed up expression on her face as she battled her frustrations. “You get my psycho humor. I fall over from your wit. I like who I am around you. And… I’m still with Vi because I’m a fucking coward. 

“Do you see the irony, Trix? I hate myself and believe that she doesn’t deserve me, yet I’m still with her because of the stupid fucking hope that she doesn’t see me the same way I see myself.” She drew a breath before continuing, “Would you honestly have given me a chance if I wasn’t with her?” She made a move to grasp Trixie’s hand in sincerity but the younger girl pulled away, frowning. It wasn’t fair that the ball was in her court now. 

“Katya, I don’t think you should break it off with Violet just for me if you still want to stay with her,” Trixie slowly said, acknowledging the disappointed expression on Katya’s face. “Plus, I’m only getting to know you a little better now, so I can’t say yet.”

“You’re right.” Katya nodded in understanding, leaning back and sucking on her cigarette. “I’ve been a fucking idiot about this whole thing.”

“Absolutely, yeah.” Trixie’s familiar dry tone was back and it brought a smile to Katya’s face. “Inviting me to a beautiful tropical paradise to seduce the panties off me.” She shrugged. “I’ve had worst dates.”

“I have some work to be done today, but I’ll make it up to you tonight. And I can take you sightseeing tomorrow,” said Katya, sipping her coffee. “So, friends?” She tilted her chin up as she held out her cup. Trixie picked up her half full glass and clinked it.

“Friends.” It was a clean slate to start off from and that she can manage.

—————————

The rest of Trixie’s day was spent outside with camera work where she took more aerial shots of the beach with her drone and the gorgeous people surfing the ocean. She got into work mode as she checked if her “light” and “natural” makeup was still in place to give an on-camera narrative of the authentic and cultured peaceful ambiance of Elyu. She also made sure to get some playful shots for her Instagram Stories.

On her itinerary was to visit and feature Phi Phi’s speakeasy bar on her vlog. While the sun was setting, she made sure to get shots of the tasteful artwork hanging on the walls and interviewed Phi Phi about her collections.

“I love collecting artworks that were made by visitors here at Elyu. Take a look at this. It’s my newest piece. Sasha made it,” said Phi Phi, pointing out a contemporary graphic design of a crown, red lips, and a unibrow. To its right, an abstract piece composed of turquoise, bronze, and gold brush strokes hung near the door. “That one was made by Katya. She said she was inspired by the view of the sea from her office and how it helped relieve some of her anxiety.”

Trixie aimed her camera at the paintings. Through the lens, she stared hard as though hoping to learn something new about the way Katya’s mind worked. She thought she discerned a hopeful beauty and some sort of sadness from the colors and the strokes.

Next she visited Ongina’s place, a small eatery that served a variety of Filipino dishes. Taking the vegetarian option, Trixie dined on sweet and savory marinated fried tofu with green beans. She washed it down with a soda while taking down notes about the place.

“So, have you and Katya talked yet?” Ongina said, leaning her forearms on the counter.

Trixie quirked an eyebrow. “Why is everybody bringing up Katya today?” she said. Ongina shrugged.

“You girls seem close. It would be a shame if your friendship got permanently ruined after last night,” she said while wiping down the bar counter and taking away Trixie’s clean plate. “And it’s nice seeing her in a different mood that wasn’t lovable bitch.”

“So what the hell is she now?” said Trixie after another bubbly sip.

“Still a lovable bitch, but we don’t want to punch her this time,” Ongina said breezily. The pink haired vlogger squawked gracelessly.

Lastly, Trixie took up Jiggly’s offer of a tour of her brightly colored hostel. It was simple in its accommodations yet a favorite for bigger groups that came to visit for its rustic bunk beds and kitschy wall decors. As Jiggly gestured her arms dramatically towards the building, she declared, “Do you know who stayed here for months the first time she was here?”

Trixie snorted. “If the answer is Katya, I’m leaving,” she said dryly. Jiggly was taken aback and dropped her arms. Trixie was about to regret her sass when the hostel owner burst into booming laughter.

“H-how did you know?” she squealed. Trixie grinned apologetically.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude… It’s just that everyone has mentioned her name to me so many times today, I’m starting to get a little suspicious,” she said sheepishly. Jiggly got around to coughing herself into composure and smiled a little guiltily.

“Have we been that obvious?” she asked a little meekly, patting her long straight hair into place.

Trixie nodded. She turned away to look at the hostel with the intention to hide her smirk from Jiggly. She didn’t want to give her and the other girls the satisfaction of knowing that their big plan to keep Katya fresh in Trixie’s mind all day kind of fucking worked.

—————————

The sun had long given away its stunning strokes of orange and yellows clouds, setting a blanket of dusky purple and blue over the beach. Katya had invited Trixie out to a post-dinner walk along the dimly lit beach. It was peaceful, Trixie had thought. Her bare toes enjoyed the feel of the fine sand, something she was not able to tolerate under the heat. There was something to be said about connecting with nature by listening to the waves move in its natural state that could melt away the city stress. She glanced sideways at Katya’s profile, admiring the shape of her nose and how her skin looked luminous among the smoke of her cigarette escaping from red lips. It was quite the vision Trixie wanted to capture for her own self and never release such beauty to the world. She contemplated how some people compare themselves to the sun, fiery and outgoing, and how their veiled eyes see the other as the quiet beauty of the moon.

The sea and the sky kissed and blew out a cold breeze that smelled of the salty ocean. Trixie shivered.

“Aren’t you cold?” she asked.

“No ma’am. I always stay warm from the fire in my pussy,” Katya replied, grinning proudly around her stick. This earned a Trixie-screech that scandalously broke the tranquil air. There was a beat of silence after she had composed herself that Katya eventually ended.

“Trixie,” she began. “You know why I stayed here?”

“Why?”

“Three years ago, I spent almost all of my savings to check myself into rehab. I had a psychotic mental breakdown that my own parents had to call the police on me because I was running buttfuck naked out of the house.” There was a solemnity in the way Katya spoke about this that Trixie had to stare, wondering if the woman was dead serious or not again.

Katya then opened up about her struggle with drug addiction to a length that she had to light up another cigarette. Trixie held on to every word, determined to better understand her history. Rehab was successful, although the relapses never went away, they were easier to manage.

“So when I got here, it was so different from the city and the suburbs and for the first time in fucking history… My mind went quiet.” She gestured a flatline across her forehead before turning to Trixie. “Have you ever been to a place, in all of your travels, where it felt like all the noise just goes away?”

Trixie smiled with nostalgia. Blue and white villages came to her mind as she remembered the smell of warm flaky pies in the afternoon. “Yeah… It was my third trip, I think. Greece. Like I took off my earphones because I didn’t need the music to stop the noise in my head.”

“I never intended to hang around for long,” Katya continued as she nodded, inhaling her stick. “But I met Karl and Sasha, and we struck a deal together. Made it work. I invested in a share of the resort and it felt like I had purpose again. Also, the locals here? Oh mama, they know how to live life properly.” Trixie nodded silently. She could tell Katya was off to a long ramble by the way her hands began to gesture wildly to punctuate and to emphasize. She found herself not wanting to cease the stream of its course.

“But what I absolutely loved was the people that came to this place. I love the stories they told, I love talking to people, did you know that? Oh my god, the things they’ve seen, all their dreams and fears and shit… 

“And then they leave. It’s like reading an anthology. I provided strangers an ear or advice. Sometimes I couldn’t help them and that’s a-okay. It’s like… I get to be the fixed point in their journey where I get to answer some lifelong questions. There were so many lives I learned about—remind me to tell you about Craig, he’s the bestest when it comes to movies—and it’s fucking redonkulous how everything we want in life is rooted to just wanting to be loved. Like in all our searching, the meaning of life comes from each other.”

Trixie folded her arms in contemplation. If travel taught her anything, the most memorable places weren’t about the sights or the food, it was about how open the locals were to connecting with foreigners.

Katya sighed. “And yet, I’m just here.” She waved a vague hand over the beach. “I’ve been here for a long while now and sometimes I feel lost myself. Or cut off from the rest of the world.” She grabbed Trixie’s hand and looked at her straight in the eye. “I’m sorry again for not telling you why I wanted you here. The loneliness was becoming unbearable and everything was empty and my head was becoming chaotic… I think that’s why I contacted you.”

“Maybe you need a new home?” suggested Trixie.

“I think I’ll find home on my own terms,” Katya replied softly.

Trixie frowned in confusion over Katya’s choice of words. What did she mean to ‘find home in her own terms’? In all of her travels, all the places she has visited and documented, has she ever found what home really means? Yet there was something familiar with Katya, in her words, in the scene she described here on the beach, looking out to the horizon—

“BITCH!” Trixie shrieked all of a sudden, stopping her tracks and startling Katya. “WAS THAT CONVERSATION ABOUT THE ‘CONTACT’ BEACH SCENE?!”

She received confirmation when Katya doubled over and began rolling over the sand in soundless laughter, nodding in glee. Trixie stomped away before she could wrap her fingers around her friend’s throat. She yelled that she was going back to her room, leaving Katya to pick herself up when she was done. She wanted to believe that Katya was bullshitting about everything, doubt her sincerity, but deep inside she understood. The search for love is life’s greatest trial that many leave messages to the universe, hoping to hear that they aren’t meant to be alone forever.

Trixie turned to look back the same moment Katya did. It could have been a passing nanosecond fancy, but Trixie swore to the stars above that she felt the phrase “I’m falling for Katya” shake her core. It was a strange feeling, she imagined, to experience a possible concept transition into powerful words. And it made the whole situation scarier now as it was one step closer to solidifying into reality.

She waited for the sense of hopeless despair she usually felt when she catches feelings for someone, but it never came. Instead she felt a glow filling her chest, a thrill that zipped through her nerves and made her gasp softly in surprise at how quick these sensations engulfed her. How does one stand by the ocean and feel like drowning? How does falling for someone feel like flying?

Their eye contact was broken by Katya sheepishly looking away, as though she had realized she had been staring too much. She lit up another cigarette.

“Your an idiot,” Trixie finally said into the silence.

“Yes and?” said Katya, smiling a little.

“And I said ‘you’re’ without the apostrophe r e.”

Katya gasped, eyes sparkling once again in mirth. “You take that back, you uncultured, illiterate, wretched heathen!”

Trixie began to walk back to the direction of the resort, calling over her shoulder with a playful laugh, “You deserve it!”

“I can’t even look at you right now,” Katya hollered, following her footsteps. “How dare yo—this changes everything I feel about you.” Trixie stopped in her tracks and so did her heart. She arched an eyebrow until Katya caught up with her.

“And how exactly do you feel about me?”

Katya blew out a cloud of smoke, appraising her friend for a beat while smirking. Trixie momentarily glanced at her rose red lips that doesn’t blossom open as much as it caterwauled inelegantly throughout the open space that probably needs to be ticketed for disturbing the peace. She could feel the anticipation stretching out, wondering what Katya was going to admit to her under the moon and stars… until the bitch simply winked and sashayed away.

 

The next morning, Trixie woke up early to catch Vivienne’s surfing lessons. It was a struggle to get out of bed that Trixie had to remind herself that her surfing lesson was also for the vlog. She grabbed her camera that was on her bed side, turned it on, and grumbled into it.

“Hey guys, it’s five in the morning and I have a surfing lesson today.” She rubbed her bleary eyes. “If you like watching me fail at stuff, keep watching because this might be my last video before I drown myself. Or get snacked on by a shark, whichever comes first.”

She turned off the camera and got up. She stretches hard before slowly encasing herself in a long sleeved blue and pink wetsuit that cut off inches above the knee over her swimwear. She met Vivienne right outside the resort, who energetically waved at her in contrast to Trixie’s sleep fuzzy brain. Her wild wavy black hair was tied up in a high bun and Trixie’s brain seemed to jolt awake up at the view of her abs above a pair of black shorts that covered half of her thick thighs. Good morning _indeed_.

Three hours later of learning the basics and trying to balance on the surfboard, the sun rays were soft and beautiful over the sparkling water and Vivienne’s _morena_ skin. The teacher and student now sat on a low stone barrier facing the shore as Trixie was catching her breath from the session.

She unstrapped the camera from her surfboard. “I had just finished my first surfing lesson here with Vivienne, who is the most patient and wonderful woman to ever teach my ungraceful, clumsy ass,” Trixie said into it. Vivienne waved and smiled as Trixie affectionately laid her stringy wet head on her shoulder.

“She was a natural,” Vivienne said.

“Am I?”

“At wiping out.”

“Bitch,” Trixie laughed. She then gave a narrative of her first time on the board, how she was worried about slipping and hitting her head underwater, and how much fun she had learning despite catching not a single wave. She jumped off the stone barrier to focus her camera for a gratuitous shot of Vivienne’s enviable curves and abs, which she thought deserved a whole post of its own. Vivienne modestly giggled at the attention. Trixie was about to launch into a litany of worship of Vivienne’s hard work when a pair of wide gray eyes suddenly filled the frame. Trixie jumped back with a surprised yelp. “Katya!”

“Morning! I was watching you whores all morning,” she cackled. She was wearing her sunglasses on her head, black shorts, and a red floral silk shirt that had the sleeves folded up to the bicep and the front casually unbuttoned only halfway through, exposing bare cleavage. To cap off Trixie’s raging lesbian fantasies, Katya had her shirt in a French tuck and a motorcycle helmet dangling off her hand. Trixie gaped. The sight was all together stunning and was all too much for one morning.

Vivienne eventually broke the staring contest with laughter and hopped down the barrier to cheek kiss Katya. She gave Katya’s outfit a one over, checked Trixie’s reaction, and winked at the blonde before enveloping Trixie in a proud hug. “I’ll see you girls later! You did a good job today, Trixie.”

“T-thanks Vivienne!” Trixie said, returning the hug and waved as she walked away, picking up Trixie’s rented surfboard along the way. That view was looking good too.

“So,” Katya coughed. “How was it?”

“Hmm? Oh! It was great! I mean I wasn’t that great, but I had fun,” Trixie said in a giddy rush, glancing back at Katya. 

There was something sexy about feeling the rush of adrenaline in the early morning and being under the control of someone very attractive in something as temperamental as the ocean. Looking into Katya’s eyes, aglow with the morning rays of light, filled her heart with something that felt like promise and care. Emboldened by her own high spirits, Trixie held eye contact while she unzipped her wetsuit to reveal underneath a green and white polka dotted bikini with a high waist bottom that accentuated her hips. With her pink hair, it was a whole watermelon fantasy and Katya’s raised eyebrows and unbridled smile was the cherry on top. As Trixie walked back to the resort, she called over her shoulder and extended her hand, “Are you coming for breakfast?”

Between two potential lovers, it’s most often that the palms kiss first before the lips do. It was as if Trixie had held out a magnet, and Katya’s own body responded like it were cold hard steel. Her feet quickly shuffled forward as her arm immediately extended to accept the invitation of Trixie’s hand. Both girls discreetly blushed at the new words their bodies just learned and intertwined their fingers together. And neither had let up until they got to their breakfast table.

————

Trixie sighed before sipping her late night cup of coffee at Velour’s. The sun had set, the beach’s nightlife was awake, and here she was waiting for Sasha to finish helping her staff with a large order so she could talk. Tonight, Sasha was wearing glitter red lipstick, an artful eyeshadow, and fake freckles across her nose. The whole look seemed to brighten up the ambiance of the cafe.

“What’s the occasion?” Trixie asked, nodding at the patterned outfit appreciatively as Sasha gracefully took a seat across hers.

“Art gallery viewing at Phi Phi’s. The gallery is called ‘Press and Play: Movement in Flow’. Would you like to come? I’m also hoping to meet potential business partners to expand the cafe,” Sasha replied. Even the way she crossed her legs were elegant. Trixie shook her head in regret.

“I can’t. I have to work on the vlog before I leave tomorrow, see if there’s a scene I might have forgotten to shoot,” she said.

“That’s right, it’s your last night here,” Sasha said in somber tones. “So what did you do today? Vivi told me you went surfing this morning.”

Trixie lit up as she recounted the rest of her day; Katya had taken her on a historical sightseeing tour via her motorcycle. As she spoke of the old churches and an old watch tower leftover from the Spanish occupation era, memories of tightly clinging to Katya’s midsection as the latter’s motorcycle zoomed down almost empty roads surfaced to her mind’s forefront. While she was describing the grape field Katya took her to, she thought of the way the light dappled on the older woman’s face underneath the grape vine leaves and forced her to stop moving so she could take a photo. When she told Sasha about the delicious dinner they had of burgers (hers a vegetarian option) and iced tea on the second floor of a beach front restaurant, all she could think about was how the sound of the waves crashing became the soundtrack of Katya’s wildest life stories, ranging from serious topics about her battle with drug abuse to the nasty and hilarious one of how she had once shat on her friend Courtney’s bed.

She remembered how she had wanted to hold Katya’s hand again while they were walking but chickened out, so she compensated by leaning her head on her shoulder while they rested. Or she swears that Katya had been staring because when she looked back, Katya quickly turned her head to the other direction. She recalled shivering whenever Katya leaned in closely to whisper something in her ear.

This woman had no shame in her being. Her unfiltered words, her animated expressions with her freedom to be. It enamored Trixie. Like the ocean they were facing, she felt unlimited. In that moment, she believed that a lot of things didn’t matter anymore just as long Katya kept her eyes bright with her enthusiasm of discussing whatever topic came to her head.

“Trixie?” Sasha punctured her thoughts. “Trixie, are you okay?”

“I think I like her,” Trixie said simply after a long pause. Sasha raised her eyebrows and her mouth fell open in delight.

“Do you really?” she gushed.

“I do.” Trixie smiled bashfully, glancing at Sasha’s little head tilt of interest.

“Have you told Katya that?” she said, chuckling.

Trixie nodded. “I did. She was talking about… God, I can’t remember now… But it was about something and she was stuttering like an idiot, trying to get her words right and… I just laughed. And when she asked what was I laughing at, I was like ‘Nothing, I just really like you.’”

Sasha gave a little gleeful gasp and a grin that stretched all the way across her face. “And then what did she say??”

Trixie shrugged, grinning. “She looked shocked, then happy. Like really happy.”

“Sooo what happens now?” Sasha prompted. She delicately laid her chin on the back of her hand and patiently waited for an answer. Trixie huffed, glancing at the shore as though hoping the answer to that would walk by.

“I don’t know…” she sighed. “Whatever I say to her, it’s not going to change the fact that I’m leaving tomorrow. Plus, she’s still with Violet so it’s not like my feelings are going to matter, doesn’t it?”

“Oh I think it will. Where is Katya anyway?”

“Her office. Said she had some business to get done first,” said Trixie. She finished the last sip of her coffee and was about to take out her wallet to pay when Sasha waved it off.

“On the house,” she said, smirking at Trixie’s surprise. “It’s your last night here and you’ve made my friend very happy these past few days. Just promise me one thing.”

“What is it?”

“Tell Katya your truth.”

Trixie sighed. “But I’m not sure what is the truth…” she said. Sasha waved a finger.

“No. Not _the_ truth,” she repeated. “ _Your_ truth.”

———

It was nearing midnight. The rest of her evening had been spent answering emails and sorting through her pictures and videos from the time she left the airport to the latest ones she took earlier today. She organized them by day and sub-labeled them by activity, knowing full well that if she did this after she got home, she’d be too exhausted to even start it. For the first time in her travel history, she made a new folder for one person.

Trixie rubbed her eyes from underneath her glasses. She knew she had snapped Katya in more artful shots, but she hadn’t realize just how much she took all in all. There was one from her first night with Katya’s other friends drinking, and she used the light nearby to give Katya an almost noir look with the wispy cigarette between her fingers. Scrolling down, she perused a goofy one of Katya; jaw wide open in mid-shriek and her eyes squinted close. She forgot the joke that was said but she can almost hear the breathless wheezing laughter coming from the picture.

The last one took her breath away, the one from the grape field. The shadows of the leaves played around her face and to her chest as her lips were closed around a grape. Trixie shook her head, trying to fight off her bubbling feelings for the woman she was going to leave tomorrow. 

It was truly better off they stay friends, Trixie was thinking. The spaces in her mind cautiously played out a daydream, one where she imagined being Katya’s girlfriend, holding hands with her and traveling the world together. It was a pleasant feeling, knowing that someone will always be there to fly alongside with her. But the moment she imagined kissing Katya, she could feel herself flush and quickly shut the daydream down. It was way too good. Reality was going to be a bitch to face had she let it play out. 

Trixie heard knocking on her door. Her gut already told her who was on the other side as she swung the door open. She was right.

“Hi. Can I come in?” Katya asked softly, hands tucked inside the pockets of her shorts. Trixie blinked. The first thing that drew her eyes in was the way Katya’s red lipstick framed her slightly open mouth. Next she noticed how her dark, smoky eyes lined a beseeching expression that was cautiously asking to be let in. She was still wearing her mouth-watering casual clothes from earlier and her dirty blonde hair seemed as though a hand had ran through it several times. Trixie minutely chased the thoughts away and opened the door wider to let her in. 

The room was a little tossed up with most of her electronic and camera gear on the desk and half folded clothes and shoes on the bed. A hot pink empty suitcase sat nearby the window. Trixie apologized for the mess and quickly straightened up her things, explaining that she had been meaning to pack but needed to work while she was still inspired. Katya silently nodded as she sank down to sit on the edge of the bed, eyes darting around the corners of the room. Once she was done fixing, Trixie leaned against the table with her arms lightly folded over the pink with white “TRAVEL BARBIE” lettering cropped hoodie she was wearing. Both women said nothing. There was a new charged energy in the room, an anticipation as thick as molasses. It was possible that something could happen in the next five minutes, and Trixie couldn’t find the right words to break the tension.

“Trixie—”

“Katya—”

The both giggled. “You first,” Trixie said, smiling.

“Right, here I go.” Katya returned the smile quickly before huffing out a breath. “I just… want to thank you for accepting my invitation in the beginning. Sorry I was weird and I hope you still had a comfortable stay at my resort. If there’s anything else I can help you with, I’d be glad to do it for you.” Trixie nodded, her expression serious.

“I had a really great time here, despite being seduced by a Sugar Mommy. I’ll send you my therapy bills, you fucking cougar,” she quipped dryly, causing Katya to squint in breathless laughter and to flail her legs over the bed. “You are like, what? 57?”

“That fucking pink hair—I knew you didn’t strike me as the type who, you know, actually works hard for her money,” Katya wheezed through her laughter. Trixie’s mouth dropped in fake outrage.

“Oh bitch excuse me, I built my vlog with hard work. But if I wanted a Sugar Mommy to pay for everything, I could’ve gotten one.”

“Because you are what? Poor.” A teasing grin splayed across Katya’s face. Trixie felt the shade dive deep all the way to her childhood in rural Milwaukee and shrieked in laughter. Katya then rolled around the bed to her favorite sound and bizarrely ended up in a pose with one leg stretched in to the air. They felt more at ease now with humor introduced into the serious conversation.

Then Katya decided to stab the atmosphere with her own knife. “Oh and by the way I also broke up with Violet.”

“You what?!” Trixie gasped, her laugh halting to a screeching stop. Of all the dumb decisions—

“It’s okay, it’s okay!” Katya said quickly, sitting back up on the bed. “I Skyped her awhile ago and we talked for hours. I told her the truth and… well, she wasn’t happy with it.” Trixie meant to interrupt but Katya held out both her hands. “But-but she also couldn’t promise me when she’s coming back home here. Or I’m not sure if she wants to call this place a home… Do you know how hard it is to buy rhinestones in this country?” She snorted humorlessly. Trixie shook her head, but deep inside she understood what Katya was implying. Based on their conversation the night before, she realized she was looking for a place to call home too. And she wasn’t talking about four walls and a roof.

“But Katya… I’m leaving too,” Trixie said almost angrily. Why did Katya have to love those who has to leave her? It wasn’t fair. She folded her arms again. “I don’t know if I can come back here. Or if you can even leave your resort.” Or, Trixie didn’t want to verbalize, if she could manage her travel vlog career from a different country just to be with Katya. It was her greatest passion and she would not give it up that easily. Traveling made her whole and she wanted to be a complete being for whoever she will give her heart to.

“I know, I know,” Katya said, grinning mischievously that, Trixie had learned, preceded a heartfelt comment. It was her defense mechanism in play when she was about to reveal a deeply vulnerable truth. “But it doesn’t matter. Wherever you’re going next, so does my home.”

The weight of the words sank in between the silence and flowered out to fill the room. Trixie’s mouth fell open and she couldn’t stop the blush creeping up her neck. Katya had just handed Trixie a part of her to carry around in all her future travels as she acknowledged that the resort was no longer considered her home. Katya lowered her head, if it was possible, in dignified embarrassment.

“Okay,” Trixie began, breaking the silence. Time to let the feelings out. “Again, I really had a nice time here. And I don’t mind having your batshit ass around.” She lowered her eyes. “I like talking with you and I think you’re one of the strongest persons I know because you’ve had shitty stuff happen to you before but you never became an asshole because of it. You’re like, really fucking smart and hard working and really good to people… and… uh…” She swallowed. There was no going back now after this. “You’d definitely have a chance. With me. If you’d still like.”

Katya’s gaze softened as she looked up to her favorite person. “All I need is one chance. Just one,” she said, standing up from the bed to meet Trixie’s eyes in all seriousness. Trixie inhaled sharply and too stepped forward, charmingly towering over Katya’s sinewy frame. The air thickened and all it takes is one move to push things to no return. Who will make the move?

“Trixie Mattel, I’m not going to let you leave this resort until I kiss you.”

Trixie’s brain short-circuited as her eyes glazed over. It was whispered so softly had she not been a breath away from Katya, she would not have caught it. “Where?” she teased lightly, buying herself some time to breathe from the situation. A shark like expression erupted from Katya’s face.

“You brat.” She smirked, eyes sparkling. She continued, “On your cheek. Or your fingertips. It doesn’t fucking matter. Wherever you want. That would be enough.” Trixie pulled back ever so slightly to stare at the small genuine smile on her face. There was a rare sincerity to Katya’s voice that wasn’t suffixed by a guffaw and melted her heart.

Trixie hesitantly turned her head to the side to hold her cheek out, allowing. As Katya slowly moved closer, Trixie caught a whiff of the ocean, smoke, and perfume. The twist of scents rapidly triggered her brain to overload with picturesque memories. In the full space of a second, her universe was filled with the smell of the seaside from her balcony at night time, moments of staring from the back of the motorcycle at Katya’s glistening neck that probably tasted like saltwater, and the sensual wisp of cigarette smoke emitting from between her fingers over a hearty laugh. If this is what caused Trixie to change her mind, she had no regrets about turning her head to meet her lips with Katya’s at the last millisecond.

All of Trixie’s thoughts quieted, died down, but such as nuclear explosions do, her brain went from white blank to exploding into colorful chaos. It didn’t feel like the simple action of two lips meeting, but a pull towards the being that is _Katya_. She decided that lips weren’t enough physical contact so she wrapped her arms around Katya’s neck, bringing her home. The older woman, who had frozen in surprise, immediately pushed Trixie against the edge of table, closing the space between their hips. Trixie could feel the heat spread throughout her entire body from the pleasurable delight of being trapped against a solid object with only a pair of well-manicured hands on her waist holding her down.

Her leg slowly moved up to Katya’s calves and rested over her ass, pulling in to lessen the distance, if there was any left possible, and to anchor herself against the storm. Katya groaned, losing her fucking mind over the eroticism of her right pelvis pressed against the apex of Trixie’s thighs. She deliciously squeezed said fleshy thigh, feeling the soft, smooth skin and roundness that was uniquely _woman_. Trixie gasped at the sensation. Her hands began to roam as she lowered her raised leg to meet Katya’s fingers, which slid down from her thighs to clutch the back of her knee. Trixie inhaled sharply and her breathing grew shallower when Katya thrust her tongue inside her mouth and, at the same time, cleverly moved her middle finger up and down, and circling rhythmically, over the crease of Trixie’s bent knee, a female version of stroking a guy’s finger with a promise of the real thing coming soon. With little left to the imagination of where this was headed, she pulled away from Katya with a loud moan. 

Both women stared at each other, breathing heavily, wide eyes searching for any sign, any hint, that they’re going to be okay. That this terrifying and exhilarating feeling was okay. With the help of the bright harsh light of her room, Trixie’s eyes hungrily took in Katya’s swollen wet red-smudged lips, dark blown out pupils, mussed up blouse exposing one shoulder and a nipple, and dirty blonde hair that she had definitely grabbed with her own hands. And Trixie thought she was the ravished one.

Katya let go of Trixie’s knee, lifting her fingertips up to the younger girl’s cheek, wordlessly asking if they could go further. She felt a shock throughout her entire body when Trixie gently pushed her away and walked to the door. Katya felt her heart drop all the way to the bottom of her stomach, believing that she had made an absolutely huge mistake and that Trixie was going kick her out of the room and tell her that she didn’t want this, that she was too old for her, and deserves way better than a former drug addict. She could feel her throat choking up, was about to wrap her arms around her stomach, until Trixie simply switched off the lights and bathed them both in moonlight from the window.

———

The sun was high and bright at mid-afternoon. The rented car sped past small bungalow houses, rice fields, traffic laden highways, to a bustling city, and soon, they would be at the Clark International Airport. Trixie was curled against Katya’s body almost the entire ride. It wasn’t much of a difference in position of how they woke up that morning, especially with Katya stroking Trixie’s cotton candy hair as dawn’s light seeped through the window. Verbal promises were whispered all night as the non-verbal ones were kissed onto naked skin. It was as though Katya wanted to soon fill Trixie’s heart with something before the painful absence sets in between them hours from now.

“I wish I could stay,” Trixie said quietly. The car was in the same city now as the airport and she could feel the hourglass sand running low with her remaining time.

“I wish you would,” said Katya, continuing to stroke Trixie’s hair before giving it a kiss. “But you have a life of your own.”

Trixie sat up, suddenly filled with guilt. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to be one of those who leaves you again—”

“Don’t be.”

“I want to keep you.”

Katya struggled for an answer to that one. Coming up with nothing, she could only gather the younger girl back into her arms so she would not see the stray tear she was wiping away.

With her head against Katya’s chest, Trixie traced the tattoos on her forearm from where her sleeve has rode up. “What does this one mean to you?” she quietly said to the left one. “Is it a Tarot card?”

Katya nodded. “The Fool,” she answered. “New beginnings, naivety, leap of faith.”

“And this is Death?” Trixie glanced at the other arm.

“Yep. It means change, mortality, letting go…” Katya glanced down to meet her eyes. “It, uh, depends on which side you see them. Things can change their meanings if you look at it in another way, you know?”

There was a moment of silence as the two women stared at each other. The car was pulling into the airport’s security checkpoint and they both felt time starting to slip away quickly. “You know what’s one thing I lo--like about you?” Trixie said, staring straight into her gray eyes, trying not to give away that she almost slipped. “You absolutely have no filter. You are so free to be yourself. Don’t ever change that.”

Katya’s mischievous smile returned. “So why does it feel like I’m the one trapped here?” she said.

“Come with me,” Trixie blurted out. She regretted it immediately, thinking how much she sounded like a child. “I mean…” Her words were hushed with a kiss.

“Let’s just see which back alley life takes us before it fucks us up, okay?” Katya whispered to her lips then grinning. They finally pulled up to Departure. Katya helped her with her suitcases and other bags before she was unable to take it and pulled her into a tight embrace.

“I can’t wait for the video,” Katya said into her ear. “You’ve always been so talented with storytelling and a camera. Remember that’s also why I brought you here.” Trixie nodded into her shoulder, fighting back her own tears.

“I hope my vlog would help bring more stories your way,” she said, releasing her hug. There was an intensity in Katya’s staring, one that fiercely declared “I love you, Trixie”, only held back by her tongue thinking that after one night of sex was too early to say out loud. Yet Trixie picked up on the expression, but couldn’t say it back either. She poured what words she cannot say yet into a tearful, lingering kiss. As they parted, Trixie picked up her bags before walking to the doorway of the airport.

Katya watched Trixie until she was no longer in sight. With a heavy heart, she got back into the car and was silent throughout the entire ride back to La Union.

———

 

THREE MONTHS LATER

 

Trixie was about to hang up after the ninth ring when her online call was finally picked up.

“Hello?”

“Sasha?” Trixie said softly.

“Darling, how are you doing?” Sasha’s low voice cooed from the other side of the world.

“I’m… I’m doing great,” the younger girl said, trying not to sound too fragile. “Just wanted to know how you’re doing.”

There was a pause before Sasha replied. “I’m doing wonderful. The cafe is doing great and I may be opening a second one somewhere in Metro Manila soon. It’s going to be at Bonifacio Global City, which is a huge deal!”

“That’s good to hear,” Trixie said, smiling. She exhaled heavily. “Sasha—”

“Are you okay, Trixie?”

“I just talked to Katya and…”

“Oh dear, is anything wrong?”

“No, none at all. I just… I just really miss her and it _hurts_ ,” Trixie sniffed, clutching the side of her bed where she was sitting on. “It hurts so much, Sasha. I just got back from my trip to Australia and… I thought traveling again would make it easier. But I don’t feel complete anymore.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Sasha said sadly. “I remember how happy you looked when you told me you liked her. Trust me, darling. It hurts for Katya too. It may even hurt for her even more.”

“Why?”

Trixie could imagine Sasha pursing their glittery lips before answering in a tone that felt like she was sitting in a Philosophy lecture.

“Because the absence of a lover is felt more strongly by the one who is left behind. Such as in ancient times, it’s man who goes off to hunt or to sail, and the woman waits for him to come back.”

Trixie fell silent. It finally clicked now when Katya had told her at the airport how she felt trapped or when she talked about ships docking at her port, only to leave later at some point. Guilt permeated her heart as she thought of Katya going through her day on the beach, hoping that one day, or someday, the girl she loves will return. While Skype sessions were frequent, it was the bodily absence of each other that was putting them through a longing that had no end. The agony was real.

“I want to keep her around,” she said, sniffing back her tears. “But my friend Bob said that the long distance is going to be hard when we live in different timezones. What do we do?”

“You know, dear, you have the option to not pursue the relationship if it’s too taxing on both of you,” Sasha said. But before Trixie could interrupt, they plowed on. “BUT that doesn’t mean you have to give up. I think you know what I mean when I say that the older you grow, the easier it is to lose contact with friends along the way, yes? So if there’s someone worth keeping in your life, it’s going to take a lot more effort to hold on to them. It’s hard, but we do it anyway because they’re worth it.”

Trixie burst into sobs. Her heart and mind both agreed strongly that Katya was worth everything, and the intensity of those feelings spilling out were overwhelming. There was a sense of relief that she still could feel her humanity capable of loving someone so much it caused her pain. She tried to compose her voice, only cracking a little. “D-doesn’t it sound stupid that… Traveling makes me feel right at home, that moving around feels like home? But this last trip didn’t feel like it…”

Sasha paused to think. “It seems the journey is more important to you than the destination… Correct me if I may be wrong, but have you ever thought that you were escaping from something?” they said. Trixie’s mouth fell open in realization. Indeed, why has she been traveling in the first place?

She began to narrate her history to Sasha through her sniffles, who patiently listened. When she was eighteen, Trixie left her family home to find a new life away from her abusive step-father. When she thought she had gotten away, she continued to run from the voices in her head that yelled that she wasn’t good or smart enough to make it in a big city. And when she had finally found monetary success in her YouTube travel vlogs and other side hustles, she had immediately worked herself to exhaustion to run away from idleness, terrified that the moment she rested, her income will fall and will be back at poverty. It was why Kim and Bob called her a workaholic, something she had honestly believed was a good virtue for a while. Until Katya, damn that girl, spoke of finding something, or someone, real to stand still for. She wanted to stop running. She had to do something.

“Trixie?”

“Hey Sasha, that business contact you have in Manila… What’s his name again?”

———————

 

FIVE MONTHS LATER

 

**THE REAL TEA BEHIND MY LA UNION VLOG—AND A SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT**  
842,711 views

“Hi guys,” Trixie softly beamed to her viewers. It felt strange for her to start a vlog without the hyped up, perky energy she usually puts on. She shyly tucked her hair behind her ear before saying, “I’ve, uh, been wondering for months if or how I should be telling you guys this story… But I think now is the perfect time.”

Her beam turned into a grin as she couldn’t help reminisce the good times she had on that sliver of paradise. A glow lit up her face.

“Several months ago, I was invited to La Union by a friend I met at VidCon. Turns out I had been casted by some almighty force above to star in a Greg Berlanti rom-com starring me and Charlize Theron from Atomic Bland…”

She snorted. Her cheeks slightly pinked before stating the words with a glowing smile. “What I mean to say is… I met someone.”

With a fluttering trail of photos and funny videos included into her vlog, Trixie told the story of how she met Katya, her friends, their brief conflict, and how they bonded even further after she left Elyu. Then she gave a quick rundown about the past few months where both ladies worked tirelessly on closing a business deal that gave Katya a brand new opportunity.

“So without further ado, may I bring to the stage… The incomparable, the legendary, the festering pile of garbage I could not scrape off my shoe, my new travel vlog partner Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova. Or as your dad calls her, Katya!”

Messy dirty blonde hair and straight perfect teeth, the glory that was Katya slid into the seat next to Trixie. While her body language stayed polite and composed, she had a wild manic grin that promised to bring crazy shenanigans to Trixie’s next world adventure. A pair of tiny plastic hands topped both of her pointer fingers. 

“Katya will be joining me on my future travels until she dies of arthritis,” Trixie explained.

“I’d die of diabetes actually,” Katya injected as-a-matter-of-factly.

“Why?”

Katya quickly turned to lick Trixie’s face, causing both of them to flail, scream, and crash off-screen. A quick jump cut edit had them both back into the frame.

Trixie took up the lead. “We’re also thinking about doing a short vlog series of us talking about whatever we want when we’re not on the road. Feel free to comment below what we should talk about first—”

“And we’ll see if we can try to stay on topic,” said Katya, grinning deviously. “Oh! I bet you’re all wondering what happened to the resort,” Katya said to the camera. “I sold it to my friend Karl and his partners at FP Ruview Enterprise, god bless those hoes. Then I took the cash, buried it into a hole, and then I fucked it.”

“And then it grew into a money tree. Fuck you dad, money does grow on trees,” Trixie chimed in. Turning to her girlfriend, she said, “Would you make a good financial adviser?”

“I would!”

“Great cause I can’t wait to be stranded in the middle of Germany with you with no money.”

It was the first time Katya wheezed and flailed on Trixie’s vlog while batting at her with the toy hands. Later on, Trixie read with gratification that her viewers ate their banter up and wanted more.

“Ooh ooh! We can look for a strip club in Germany and wiggle there for extra cash,” Katya exclaimed. She got up from her seat and began running her hands up and down her torso and hips in the least sexiest way possible. Trixie watched with open amusement, wondering with utter delight what she had gotten herself and her vlog into. For a few seconds, she played out a daydream; twisting around to the plane seat next to hers and seeing Katya’s wild and excited grin, looking forward to their trip together. It felt like she was back at Elyu’s beach again falling in love with her for the first time. This is what it felt like to be whole again. 

“So, we’ll see you guys until our next video. Until then, I’m the adhesive allergy drag queens get on their balls for wearing too much duct tape, Trixie Mattel!”

“And I’m the dumpster bookshelf you’re dragging to your apartment at midnight when this stranger helps out and you pay him in wigs and a quick fuck, Katya!”

———

“Where are we going to next, by the way?” Katya asked after they turned off the camera. Trixie blinked. After Katya moved in with her, Trixie had to take a step back and wonder how did she get it right this time. There was a person in her space that she could always expect to see at the end of the day that could make everything better. When Trixie thought about home, she had never imagined it would be the sound of a hairdryer at 9 in the morning, or the faint smell of cigarettes in the late afternoon. And when Trixie said she wanted to be able to relate to love songs again, she didn’t exactly think that she herself would be blasting Taylor fucking Swift and singing “She is the best thing that has ever been MIIIIIINE” while cleaning their bathroom. She knew Katya hated Ms. Swift, but she also knew she was probably secretly smiling over the fresh clothes she was folding.

The concept of love is simple, yet so terribly easy to complicate. So it gave Trixie great pleasure to reply in all its uncomplicated glory, “Let’s stay home for a while.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks for sticking around till the end! I feel more encouraged now as a writer after reading all your comments. :D This was just a fun sweet story I wanted to write while taking a break from working on my original novel. Sometimes a writer needs to write fanfiction to remind themselves to just have fun and to not take themselves so seriously.

**Author's Note:**

> The whole story has already been written, so you won't have to wait long for the next chapter. I'd like to know though what do you guys think so far. <3


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